The Reef Atlantis: My Favorite Family Resorts

Planning a getaway to the Bahamas and staying at Atlantis? Wendy Perrin is sharing her family's personal picks for the best family-friendly resorts, and today the spotlight is on how to do Atlantis right—stay at The Reef.

So your family is clamoring for a trip to Atlantis, the behemoth Bahamian waterpark resort, and you don’t know which of its five hotels to choose. The answer: The Reef. I spent my first visit to Atlantis wishing I were staying there and my second visit actually staying there. Not only does it make Atlantis bearable, but it makes my family’s list of 12 favorite kid-friendly resorts.

Why The Reef Atlantis made my list: Because if you must go to Atlantis, it’s the property where you are farthest from the frenzy and can get an empty white sand beach all to yourself.

A bit about this list: In a 12-part series, I’m sharing my personal picks for best kid-friendly resorts. Now, every family is different—and, mercifully, my children have not hit the teen years yet—so the places I’ve chosen won’t suit everyone, but they’re the ones that have worked best for me (exhausted working mom), my husband (exhausted stay-at-home dad), and our kids (hyperkinetic eight- and nine-year-old boys). Together the four of us made a list of the 30-or-so resorts we’ve been to as a family, and then we deliberated, debated, and drilled down until we ended up with our top 12. I’m revealing them here, in alphabetical order, and because a child’s perspective is crucial, my nine-year-old, Charlie, is weighing in with his own reviews and advice for kids. Charlie and I have rated each property as well—on a scale of 0 to 5 smiles.

What I liked most: In case it isn’t glaringly obvious by now, my husband and kids love water parks and I don’t. At The Reef I could spend all day on a serene white sand beach, not one water slide in sight, while my husband took the kids all day and wore them out for me. (Truth be told, I actually spent all day in my room chained to my laptop, but at least I had a panoramic view of that serene white sand beach from my balcony.) Another advantage of The Reef: Each room has a kitchen, which saves you a mint because meals at Atlantis are crazy expensive. A kitchen allows you to bring a few staples from home (peanut butter, packets of oatmeal, boxes of macaroni and cheese) and prepare meals yourself. In the lobby is a small grocery store where you can buy more provisions and a Starbucks where you can grab a quick, relatively inexpensive breakfast or lunch. Rooms at The Reef have washer/dryers too, which means you can pack light and avoid checked-luggage fees. Here’s my full review of The Reef Atlantis**.

But keep in mind: Atlantis is immense and therefore exhausting for whoever is taking your offspring to the water slides and chasing them around all day. The older your children, the less of a grueling work-out you’ll face. Check the height minimums for the slides before you book your trip: If you have more than one child, you may want to wait till they’re all tall enough to ride the same slides.

Says Charlie: "What’s great about Atlantis is that there are enough water slides for kids my age. It’s not like LegoLand where you have to ride with all these four-year-olds. At Atlantis the little kids have their own section with their own water slides, which means the bigger kids get more thrilling slides that they can enjoy. The best water slide is The Abyss, in case you’re eight or nine and you want to branch out. It’s really, really steep—like an 80-degree angle. And it’s pitch black inside. And you finish in this secret underwater cave. The lazy river is also great. But it’s not a lazy river: it’s a crazy river with raging rapids. And stop by the kids’ club because it’s really, really cool. There’s a digital floor where you can play dodgeball and volleyball and other games on it that are awesome. And there’s a whole room just for video games. And a kitchen for cooking classes. But the digital floor is the best thing there."